Items at some libraries:
- Kill-a-Watt voltage meter
- Radon detector
- Telescope
- Microscope with slides
- Board games
- Cooking appliances
- T-Mobile-powered, infini-data hotspot devices that can fit in your pocket and provide Internet
this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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You can rent a kill-a-watt??? Thats dope as shit
Borrow*
Fr I bought one used it for a week and now it's lying around
My cousin uses the library to get art to hang on their wall. Good stuff too, their library's got a good curator.
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'makes government fund them more' .. 'rent cds and games and movies'
(So, they're socialist BS that destroyed legit rental businesses with taxpayer money.)
"legit" lol
Those rental businesses went out of business well before libraries were generally offering non-book media rentals...
Ah yes! It was libraries that killed my good ol’ hometown Blockbuster Video. It certainly could not have been market forces reacting to technological innovation to birth a multitude of subscription rental businesses available through increasingly faster internet connections.
Curse you libraries! You killed all the bookstores. And record shops too! Is there no end to your socialist devilry. Everyday I thank the gods that we haven’t socialized education. Such a thing would destroy the livelihoods of the great tutors who taught each of us our letters and numbers.
Yeah and totally not the rise of streaming and on-demand services
Oh no.
Read the room dude wtf
That sounds rad as hell, but also not particularly the case.
Yeah, and hopefully their streaming services can put the little hometown Netflix out of business… and don’t get me started on their streaming services competing with ‘lil Bezos’ Audible…
I made once the dumb mistake of getting my library card right before moving to another city, and never ever checked if it's valid or repurposable since (three years now).
Well, time to fix that!
Yeah do that! They are free and I have a collection of library cards from every place I have lived. You never know when you will be on the run from the law and need to, I don’t know, read a book or something.
They aren't free everywhere
That’s true. My answer was US centric. But if you are on the run from the law and want to expand your mind, what better place to do it than the US?
As neofascism is going worldwide, chances are if I have to run from the law it's going to be because I read a book! XD
But yeah, totes doing that likely this Friday, since I'll be around the place anyway.
Some even have 3D printers
People are baffled when I say I use the library. They're brainwashed by big tech to think that "no one uses that now" . Pretty frustrating since its the only 3rd space left and people are trying to get it shut down (why should MY taxes pay for that!! We have INTERNET ).
I hate people.
I think "borrow" has a bad connotation in the US. Like: "beg, borrow or steal". But people should remember that it's theirs, they paid for it with their taxes, they're just sharing it with others.
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If you happen to live in Berlin, Vöbb's digital subscription is 10 euros year but it gets you things like statista and pressreader that would would cost hundreds of euros per month combined.
And if you don't it's possible your local library also has a similar offer.
A well run library is an amazing thing.
I collect library cards like other people collect Pokémon cards. The more I get, the more audiobooks are available to me through apps like Libby.
I have five library cards with 3 subs to Kanopy and 2 to Hoopla. I actually prefer Libby to anna’s archive or other alternative methods. If anyone has sneaky methods to get more…share them please!
For anyone who cares here is a list of the largest e-book lenders that I found when I was library cards hunting. If you are in one of these areas—get a library card!
The top 10 ebook and digital audiobook-circulating library systems for 2020:
- Toronto Public Library
- Los Angeles Public Library
- King County Library System (WA)
- National Library Board Singapore
- New York Public Library
- Multnomah County Library (OR)
- Seattle Public Library
- Hennepin County Library (MN) - 228/63
- Harris County Public Library (TX)
- Calgary Public Library (AB, Canada)
The top 5 ebook and digital audiobook-circulating consortia and shared collections:
- Wisconsin Public Library Consortium 126k total
- The Ohio Digital Library
- Greater Phoenix Digital Library
- Tennessee READS
- Digital Downloads Collaboration (OH)
To add to this:
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Mid-Continent Library in the Kansas City Metro has the biggest selection that I’ve seen in this area (Kansas and Missouri). Idk about Wichita or St Louis.
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You can sign up for the KC Library, Johnson County Library, and Mid-Continent Library card online if you live in an area it covers.
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You can get a Johnson County Library card if you don’t live in that area, but you have to go in person to sign up.
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There are also quite a few libraries around the US that will let you sign up regardless of where you live if you make a donation.
"rent CD"
You mean... "borrow"? "Rent" implies payment.
Also. Who the fuck is borrowing CD's, what is this, 1999?
You can absolutely bulk out your own digital library with library movies/music
Yeah, you can.
You can also code in binary, if you really so chose to.
Couldn't see why you would, but you definitely could.
Physical media is coming back because owning is better than licensing.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Walk into any music store. Or bookstore. Or a Half Price Books, which sells both. People are sick of paying for the capricious hands of streaming to tell them what they're allowed to watch or read or listen to on any given day.
Walk into a specialised sex-store for a very specific fetish, and you'll see lots of people with that very specific fetish.
I don't think that would mean that the fetish is taking over society.
Yes, I know that some people value physical media. But most don't. Most people value convenience. That's what enables enshittification. If everyone was actually as sensitive to corporate bullshit as the people who you're talking about, corporate bullshit wouldn't survive.
Most people are idiots. What can you do?
I know that some people value physical media. But most don't. Most people value convenience.
I'm not talking about "everyone in the world," I'm talking about "more people than ten years ago."
I recognize that the internet is allergic to context and nuance, but seriously.
I’m not talking about “everyone in the world,” I’m talking about “more people than ten years ago.”
Yes, I understand what you mean. I still don't think you could find numbers to support that. While some of the people who are interested or even aware of the ideas that we're talking about, sort of media erasure and who actually even owns the thing you're watching, I'd argue those people are a tiny minority. I'd argue that for instance, my grandma and dad passing away in the last few but I've gained a niece and nephew, the population of my family has stayed essentially the same, but now there's two people less who have ever even listened to physical media, let alone still owning it.
So I'm just... politely disagreeing with you. I understand I might be mistaken, but I'm pretty confident I'm not. I think the niche is smaller than the change in attitudes towards technology. Hell, 10 years ago quite a lot of people my age still had DVD's, but that's way less common in the general population now. Movie buffs, maybe, but I don't know any anymore who actually collect movies. Or well, I suspect I do, but like people I use to be friends 10-15 years ago. Or like technically probably still am, depending on your definition.
Anyway, that's the way I see it and unless we get facts on the table from somewhere, I don't see how we could agree in this.
So I'm just... politely disagreeing with you.
Honestly...this is the first time in a decade or more that I've actually believed anyone online who said something like that. Hey, you're cool. I like this sort of disagreement.
Anyway, that's the way I see it and unless we get facts on the table from somewhere, I don't see how we could agree in this.
"We face each other as God intended. Sportsmanlike. No bad faith arguments, no logical fallacies...fact against fact alone."
"You mean...you'll put down your anecdotal data and I'll put down my cherry-picked personal experiences and we'll try and convince each other of our points like civilized people?"
Nice reply, thanks.
But yeah, I don't really mind if I'm right or wrong in this, this is just what I know I believe at this point.
I could be assuaded to believe that the use of physical media has increased, given proper figures from something relevant.
But I'm unsure what numbers those would be. Sales? Sales of new works, used works? Production of new physical media?
I don't know.
I'm not too bothered by this, I just like to discuss things.
Same. I think sales figures for new works could provide a partial picture, but not anything definitive. The only thing I found in my short research (I like doing big research binges, but don't have time for it today) was this article, which is far from a mic-drop but it sure is interesting.
I just like to discuss things.
Same. Sorry for jumping down your throat earlier. I assumed a tone of you that you weren't using.
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ur
\sigh
Someone reposting this like a year ago actually was what got me to get mine. Now I use Libby and get audiobooks etc from the library, it’s pretty sweet and was all free.
For some reason all 5 libraries in distance of me close at 6pm and I work until 9pm so yeah.
Register online if you can.
A lot of them come with free access to Kanopy or Hoopla which are streaming services with movies and TV shows that you log into with your library card
Hoopla also has comics and uses a guided view type of reader.
My local library is right next to a couple schools and, in the afternoons, functions as a really wholesome third space for a fair number of kids. Both free and hopefully inspires several of them to get into reading as a hobby.
Even if I didn't use the library, that would be an excellent use of my tax dollars.
Found so many of my favorite CD's there in high school. Crystal Method, Linkin Park, Silversun Pickups, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Creed, Stone Sour, Train, Daft Punk.
Some places will issue library cards if you work in the city but don't live there just as an fyi.
Some systems let you check out and sync to an e-reader too, kobos work with my system but I think there's other ways to get then on there.
Our library was an awesome source independent and foreign films. They were perfect shape bc so underused. We took out 10 at a time.
Shout out to my local library. Manchester Central Library.
Even has pianos you can play with headphones.
1.6M+ book and volumes. Also holds our records for Manchester going back to like the 1200s. Truly beautiful place and great to just wonder around.
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